[Verse 1: Rakim] Yo, I can see the main problem, G Your minority remains in poverty Robberies for commodities And the majority prays, the same camaraderie In one hand, it's a pot of gold In the other hand, it makes cancer seem like the common cold The common goal is it curses you and leaves you with wicked ways Kill a whole neighborhood off, quick as AIDS One touch'll feel better than drugs You're hooked now, it's never enough Some say it feels better than love Every sentence, protocol Number one cause overall Make them go to war quick for them, broads strip for them Shooters fours blow for 'em, street corners pitch for 'em Poor folk want 'em so the rich flaunt 'em Novus Ordo Seclorum E Pluribus Unum
[Hook: Rakim] Tell me what's wrong Talkin' 'bout M-O-N-E-Y What's wrong People will steal or lie, to get paid Tell me what's wrong Talkin' 'bout M-O-N-E-Y What's wrong People will kill or die, to get paid
[Verse 2: Rakim] Ain't nothin' deeper than the root of evil It's too cerebral, look what it do to people Turn they're heart cold, even their soul with no feelins The ghetto m-o, no money, mo' killin' It's no chillin', it leaves the place blazin' Ain't no such thing as a safe haven How can the youth survive in a world we made? The future dies at an early age We went from pride and honor to divide and conquer Killin' ourselves, that ain't the final offer That's why usually, when somebody die, it's karma 8 million stories, advertised by a violent author Grindin' harder to supply the corner While the government's the private sponsor From the belly of the beast, from 25 to life inside the monster Money, the co-defendant, the silent partner
[Hook: Rakim]
[Verse 3: Rakim] We saggin' on the streets of New York, to Californ' But it seems like we got our swagger wrong Should have tried to walk with Farrakhan Now it's welcome to the rise and fall of Babylon It's genocidal, check Revelations in your Bible Before the last days, expect a drastic change In America, the home of the brave To America, the home of the grave Hell is waitin', no survival Plus the ozone hole is torn, the globe is warm From man-made products goin' to the moon on the norm Cigars and mother nature unfold a storm The greedy keep drainin' the Earth for jewels and fuel Keep searchin' 'til you crack the Earth in two Never personal, it's always business The same reason they knocked down the World Trade Centers